Chapter 45: The Mirror

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and made a visit to Liu Jinxia’s house.

Cuicui’s paternal grandmother had been hospitalized, so both Cuicui and her mother, Li Juxiang, had gone to the clinic to visit her. The house was empty.

Liu Jinxia had already set up a bridge game that morning. When Li Zhuiyuan arrived, she was deeply engrossed in playing.

Upon hearing his message, Liu Jinxia flicked the ash from her cigarette and said, “The day after tomorrow. We’ll go together that morning to Niu Fu’s place in Shigang.”

“Granny Liu, isn’t that a bit too soon?” Li Zhuiyuan asked.

“What’s too soon about it? Sooner we finish, sooner we get paid, hehe. Besides, your great-grandfather’s going with us—what’s there to worry about?”

If only she knew what kind of shape his great-grandfather was really in now, she wouldn’t be so nonchalant.

Li Zhuiyuan returned home and reported the date to Li Sanjiang.

“Alright, good, good.”

Lying on the second-floor balcony recliner, Li Sanjiang gleefully slapped his thigh and reached out to pull a rope hanging from the wall. The rope was attached to a black wooden box nailed high up.

First came a burst of static, then a second tug brought forth the voice of a storyteller from within the box.

Li Sanjiang closed his eyes and lit a cigarette, listening to the tale as he smoked. Despite his battered body, he still exuded a kind of carefree defiance.

Sensing that Li Zhuiyuan was still standing nearby, Li Sanjiang spoke.

“Little Yuanhou, this is the life I chose. Do the most dangerous jobs—why? Because they pay well and aren’t that tiring.”

“This is your great-grandfather’s fate.”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and took out Volume Five of Records of Strange Happenings in the Martial World. He walked to the southeast corner of the balcony and sat down to study.

As before, each time he turned a page, he’d glance down at the girl below.

He noticed she was also looking up at him.

Not bad—this mutual gaze was easy on the eyes.

But the more he looked, the more he realized: every time he glanced down, their eyes met.

Even Granny Liu downstairs was now looking up, following her granddaughter’s gaze.

Which meant every time he tried to feast his eyes, he ended up meeting Granny Liu’s too. That definitely ruined the mood.

So for the rest of Volume Five, Li Zhuiyuan didn’t look down again.

When he finished and went inside to fetch Volume Six, he looked down from the balcony once more. Granny Liu was now sitting in a chair reading the newspaper, but Qin Li still had her head tilted up at him.

Could she really hold that position all this time?

The thought filled him with guilt. He couldn’t fully concentrate on his reading.

Downstairs, Granny Liu kept a sideways eye on the balcony. Noticing how the boy’s peeks became increasingly erratic, she chuckled to herself:

Ah, men. Free and easy when unburdened, but once responsibility hits, they get all flustered.

Then something startled Liu Yumei so much that she dropped her newspaper.

She saw Li Zhuiyuan run down the stairs, smile as he passed her, and walk straight up to her granddaughter.

“You—”

Before she could finish, she saw him bend down, reaching for her granddaughter’s hand.

“Dangerous—”

Liu Yumei knew how badly her granddaughter could react to being touched by outsiders. Even she, as her grandmother, had to be cautious.

She bolted upright with a jolt, but then watched in stunned silence as the boy took Qin Li’s hand—and she stood up with him.

What… what was happening?

That morning, she’d even used the excuse of making tea to get a close look at the boy, to see if he had any “unclean thing” clinging to him that might attract her granddaughter.

But this? This went beyond her understanding.

Li Zhuiyuan held Qin Li’s hand—it was warm and soft.

“Your neck must get sore from looking up like that. Want to come upstairs and read with me?”

Qin Li looked at him silently.

“No answer? I’ll take that as a yes.”

He picked up the stool she’d been sitting on and led her inside.

Liu Yumei didn’t stop them. On the contrary, after her initial shock, watching the two kids walk hand-in-hand brought tears to her eyes.

She covered her mouth with one hand to muffle any sobs, even bit her knuckle to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

Clang!

Downstairs, Aunt Liu dropped a whole basin of paste while making paper effigies. The mess was everywhere. Good thing Li Sanjiang was upstairs—he’d have thrown a fit.

Creak…

Uncle Qin, assembling a paper house frame, yanked a roof beam clean off.

The two locked eyes, each thinking they must’ve hallucinated. Had they really just seen Qin Li being led up the stairs… by someone else?

They dropped everything and rushed out to the yard. Not seeing Liu Yumei, they went to the east room—and found her standing before the ancestral shrine, weeping with joy.

“You saw it, didn’t you? You all saw it! Our A’Li, our A’Li…”

…

Li Sanjiang was puffing away and humming along to the radio when he turned for a sip of tea—and nearly choked.

“Pffft!”

Water sprayed from his mouth.

“Great-grandpa, want me to refill your cup?”

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan walking in hand-in-hand with Qin Li, Li Sanjiang waved them off in panic.

“No, no, no! You take her and stay far away from me! No, wait—you too—”

Li Zhuiyuan brought Qin Li to the southeast corner and set down her stool.

“Sit here.”

She sat.

He returned to his recliner, picked up the book, and after reading a page, frowned. Then he stood up again.

“Stand up for a sec.”

Qin Li stood.

He replaced her stool with a slightly taller one—Ying’er had brought it over yesterday—and set it beside his own seat.

“Here, sit on this.”

She hesitated, looking at the new stool.

He quickly wiped it with his sleeve. “There—clean now.”

She sat down.

He placed the book on the wooden stool instead of holding it to read lying down.

They sat close—head to head.

Her gaze stayed fixed on him, and his line of sight now easily included her face while reading.

The breeze lifted her hair now and then, brushing his cheek. Her scent lingered near his nose.

It was a strange, novel feeling.

Reading and eye candy—perfectly synchronized.

Li Zhuiyuan felt he’d discovered peak reading efficiency.

In the distance, Li Sanjiang’s expression evolved—from alarm to dread to disbelief. But after watching long enough and seeing that the girl just quietly sat there staring, with no signs of danger, he relaxed.

Admiration even lit his eyes.

This Little Yuanhou really was different from his mom.

Back when Li Lan was in school, she used to receive love letters all the time. And her response? Deliver every last one straight to the principal’s office.

That day, so many boys got their parents called in. The principal’s office rang with the sound of scoldings and slaps.

“Good, very good. Looks like our Little Yuanhou’s sharper and savvier than his mom ever was.”

Li Sanjiang closed his eyes and resumed listening to the radio tale.

Near noon, Li Zhuiyuan felt the urge to pee—probably from all the tea he’d had with Granny Liu that morning.

“Need to use the bathroom?” he asked Qin Li.

No response.

“Alright, you stay here. I’ll be right back.”

Still nothing.

He went downstairs and out behind the house. The vegetable garden was vast—plenty of space to mark his territory. Just as he got in position, he heard footsteps behind him.

Turning, he saw Qin Li had followed.

“Uh…”

He abandoned all the wisdom handed down by Pan’er and Lei’er and ducked into the outhouse behind a curtain.

As soon as he got into position, the curtain was pulled aside—she followed him in.

He had to lead her back out. “I came here to pee. If you’re in here too, I can’t go. Wait here, alright?”

She gave no sign.

He tried again. Once inside, he paused and waited. No sound of the curtain being moved. Finally, he unfastened his belt.

After washing his hands at a water vat, he stepped out and saw her still standing there.

“Do you need to go? You should go if you do.”

She walked toward the outhouse, lifted the curtain—only to have her hand caught.

She looked back at him, confused.

The same confusion she’d shown last night when he told her to eat, then didn’t let her.

He worried—could she use the bathroom by herself? The way Granny Liu took care of her…

Truthfully, he knew very little about her—except that she was beautiful.

Li Zhuiyuan was about to go find Granny Liu to ask when he looked down the corridor—and saw Liu Yumei’s head peeking out.

“Granny Liu…”

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